So I'm a huge fan of space 4x games (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate). I also am a fan of complicated games. I want extreme detail and the like. This leads to a problem: for me most 4x space games, masters of orion for example, are quite formulaic. Even Stellaris, as fun as it is, runs into a pretty clear formula eventually.

Enter one of my favorite games recently: Aurora 4x. It's a one man project. It's graphics are piss poor, most of the information is via spreadsheets, and there are clear bugs

BUT it is one of the most detailed games I have ever encountered. Tactics are a must and one has to seriously consider the trade-offs between short range laser and rail gun weapons and long range, but limited supply, missile systems. Each competent of a ship must be designed and researched in addition to the underlying technology necessary for it's creation. There are no predetermined classes so you can basically make a "destroyer" whatever you want.

Anyway, I know some people here are a fan of the genre so I thought I would pass it along.

So I'm a huge fan of space 4x games (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate). I also am a fan of complicated games. I want extreme detail and the like. This leads to a problem: for me most 4x space games, masters of orion for example, are quite formulaic. Even Stellaris, as fun as it is, runs into a pretty clear formula eventually.

Enter one of my favorite games recently: Aurora 4x. It's a one man project. It's graphics are piss poor, most of the information is via spreadsheets, and there are clear bugs

BUT it is one of the most detailed games I have ever encountered. Tactics are a must and one has to seriously consider the trade-offs between short range laser and rail gun weapons and long range, but limited supply, missile systems. Each competent of a ship must be designed and researched in addition to the underlying technology necessary for it's creation. There are no predetermined classes so you can basically make a "destroyer" whatever you want.

Anyway, I know some people here are a fan of the genre so I thought I would pass it along.

Interesting. I'll check it out.

I still play Space Empires. I started with SEII, then SEIII, and now I play SEIV, SEV has come out recently, but I haven't got it yet. Not as much time available for games these days.

So I'm a huge fan of space 4x games (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate). I also am a fan of complicated games. I want extreme detail and the like. This leads to a problem: for me most 4x space games, masters of orion for example, are quite formulaic. Even Stellaris, as fun as it is, runs into a pretty clear formula eventually.

Enter one of my favorite games recently: Aurora 4x. It's a one man project. It's graphics are piss poor, most of the information is via spreadsheets, and there are clear bugs

BUT it is one of the most detailed games I have ever encountered. Tactics are a must and one has to seriously consider the trade-offs between short range laser and rail gun weapons and long range, but limited supply, missile systems. Each competent of a ship must be designed and researched in addition to the underlying technology necessary for it's creation. There are no predetermined classes so you can basically make a "destroyer" whatever you want.

Anyway, I know some people here are a fan of the genre so I thought I would pass it along.

I remembering looking at Aurora a while back. It's definitely an impressive project!

It looks like a huge time commitment, both in just learning how to work the systems and in getting anything done. I remember seeing someone doing a Let's Play on YouTube. IIRC, after about 16 hours of play he had only managed to explore a few systems beyond Sol, hadn't encountered any sign of other players, and just gave up. I got the impression you had to really enjoy detailed optimizations and be in the thing for the long haul to get something out of it.

As it stands, I'm struggling to make time to finish a game of Stellaris. I think things must be wrapping up; we're building megastructures, murdering Dimensional Horrors, and about to upload our consciouses into machines. I'm really curious about the End Game Crisis system, though. I'm not sure when that triggers.

I've also found that the older I get, the more I care about graphics in games. Not in the sense of being realistic or high-polygon counts or what have you, but I think I've developed a great appreciation for games that are enjoyable to see. That are pretty, for lack of a better word. I learned to enjoy Dwarf Fortress (with some really basic tile sets), though its hard to go back to that now that I have Rimworld. I'm not sure I could handle the starkness of Aurora for an extended period of time.

It looks like a huge time commitment, both in just learning how to work the systems and in getting anything done. I remember seeing someone doing a Let's Play on YouTube. IIRC, after about 16 hours of play he had only managed to explore a few systems beyond Sol, hadn't encountered any sign of other players, and just gave up. I got the impression you had to really enjoy detailed optimizations and be in the thing for the long haul to get something out of it.

Yikes!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dilettante

As it stands, I'm struggling to make time to finish a game of Stellaris. I think things must be wrapping up; we're building megastructures, murdering Dimensional Horrors, and about to upload our consciouses into machines. I'm really curious about the End Game Crisis system, though. I'm not sure when that triggers.

I'm having trouble getting into Stellaris. Again, it is the time commitment thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dilettante

I've also found that the older I get, the more I care about graphics in games. Not in the sense of being realistic or high-polygon counts or what have you, but I think I've developed a great appreciation for games that are enjoyable to see. That are pretty, for lack of a better word. I learned to enjoy Dwarf Fortress (with some really basic tile sets), though its hard to go back to that now that I have Rimworld. I'm not sure I could handle the starkness of Aurora for an extended period of time.

Yes, I agree definitely. I don't care much for whiz-bang 3-D graphics spinning around, but I do like good looking games.

I'm having trouble getting into Stellaris. Again, it is the time commitment thing.

Yeah, it's not a quick experience. According to Steam I've put in 100 hours total and only played 2 games through to "finished", though several hours of that is probably just playing around with the empire-maker.

It's not the greatest game ever, but it does lend itself to making some great stories.

I still don't understand the end-game, though. <mild spoilers> I just wrapped up my 2nd-playthrough. I had followed the synthetic ascension path to the end (all my people are immortal robots now), built vast megastructures in space, reached "equivalent" status with the Fallen Empires, and pretty much exhausted the tech tree, all in about 140 in-game years. And then...nothing. We had destroyed all our real enemies and all the leviathans, and I was playing xenophile pacifists, so I had no interest in conquering everyone else. There was just nothing much left to pursue. After about 5 years of that on the fastest speed, I opened the console and manually triggered an end-game crisis, the Scourge one. If you take the entirety of those 140 in-game years and add together every ship I had ever made, it would probably amount to about 150k worth of fleet power. When my military finally died, taking easily five times their number in Scourge ships with them, the Scourge had remaining combined fleet strength of over 1 million. Given that I had all the best weapons and defenses already, I don't know how I was supposed to survive that aside from just spending 50 years of game time doing nothing but building ships before the Scourge arrived. That doesn't sound like fun.

So while I really like the first half of the game, the ending is odd. Either boredom or, if there's a crisis, guaranteed, unstoppable, defeat.